The Adult Role in Children's Free Play

Some studies into Early Years education have shown that whilst teachers prepare and plan to be involved in adult-led activities with groups of children, during ‘free play’, children are more likely to be left unsupported as adults are unsure on the level of involvement they should have.

The rationale behind this, is that during free play, children should be allowed to get on with it themselves and take play in the direction that they want it to go.

Whilst this is true, there is a fine balance to be struck.

If you don’t engage and interact with children during ‘free play’, then the children may receive the message that ‘free play’ activities are less important, and that what adults do is more important than what children choose to do.

Of course this is not the case, so it is important that adults reinforce this by joining in when it is appropriate.

This can vary between circulating around children during ‘free play’ to dipping in and out of children’s conversations, in order to acknowledge or add weight or meaning to what they are doing.

In other situations, adults should wherever possible, be available and willing to join children when they are invited to join ‘free play’, for example, in role-play when asked to take the role of a customer in a shop, or a passenger on a bus.

Timing of interactions is key so that adults can support and extend ‘free play’ without intruding upon, redirecting or even unintentionally ending it. It’s a fine art!

The key is knowing when and how to join in the action and when to step back for a moment, and it very much depends on the circumstances at the time.

If you step in too early, a child may lose an opportunity to learn from their own mistakes, to try and build a relationship or resolve a conflict by themselves, or to solve a problem independently and creatively. Leave it too long and children may become disengaged and frustrated.

A adult’s role during ‘free play’ is really to support and extend learning. This can be done by asking open-ended questions.

After conversing, a teacher or parent could refer children to one another so that not only do they learn how to find solutions to problems together, but they also learn social interaction, how to communicate and build relationships and develop their language.

The adult acts as a scaffold, encouraging and enabling children to develop and learn and move on to new things, but allowing them to discover for themselves.

At the same time, adults should have an active role to play in challenging any inappropriate behaviour that may arise in a fair and sensitive way.

An adult can also support and extend learning during ‘free play’ by acting as an “emotional anchor”. They do not have to actively participate, but they are there as a quiet and reassuring adult presence making a child feel secure and encouraging them to engage and explore and make their own choices.

Adults can do this by playing alongside children when they are enjoying whatever activity they have chosen to do, whether painting, building with blocks, or making mud pies, with the intention that the children might draw the adult into the conversation as and when they are needed.

This gives a clear message to children that they are in control of the action, but that support from their teacher is available to them if they need it.

Read more about free play on our edu-blog now: https://tinyurl.com/encouragingfreeplayldn